Sheila Penrose: Snow outside, a blizzard of sessions inside

I spoke in a panel yesterday about operating in an interconnected business world at a time when politics are fragmented and geopolitical risks are heightened. The group, from a wide range of industries, came to a few conclusions that align well with JLL’s expertise and approach:

Focus on cities, not just countries

Balance experienced global management with deep local expertise, to allow local flexibility and responsiveness within an overall framework of clear and consistent values

One of ten core themes on which the World Economic Forum focuses each year is gender parity. It is good to note that attendance of women at the annual meeting is up a little this year, but there is still plenty of room for improvement among the corporate leader ranks.

For a decade, the World Economic Forum has produced well-regarded analysis on female representation across countries. Now the analysis will be extended to the industry sector level, with the intent of identifying now the actions to be taken to ensure continued progress by 2020. JLL is involved in this work both on a global and an industry level. We’re anxious to see what emerges.

One thing is notable. Progress on diversity is consistently raised here as a business priority in both public sessions and private conversations about successful business performance.